The general conviction before the elections was this: if terrorism and security issues dominate the campaign in the fall, Republicans have an edge over Democrats. Conversely, if the most apparent issues are related to the economy, Democrats will be in a better position. That George W. Bush requested a $700 bn package from Congress to prop up the crumbling US financial system should make it an obvious sign to even the most optimistic observers that the economy is, for real, quite in a dangerous situation – the question is, will this really help the Democrats in any way.